Once There Was The Sun
by animewolf1176
Summary: When Serena's mother passes away, her father that she has never met comes to take her away to his home to live. Reluctantly she decides to go to Ouran but under one condition: she gets to wear the guys uniform! Kasanoda/OC
1. Chapter 1

The rain was falling down around where I was sitting soaking me to the bone. I was under the big oak tree that had supposedly been around for generations in my family and at the moment the only comfort I had. I was contemplating as to what I should do at this point. I mean, what do you do when your entire world crumbles because of something that you couldn't control? I am Serena Shields. My size is average I suppose and I have long blonde hair and yellow eyes.

I lived with my mother for my 16 years of life in several different places until recently when she passed away from a car crash. It was only the two of us, so when she died I had nowhere to go. That is, until my father appeared and told me that I was to live with him in his home far away. I found out through my friends computer hacking skills that he was rich beyond my wildest dreams. He had no children other than me and if I played my cards right I would inherit everything. There was only one problem: I didn't want any of it.

I gazed out into the land that I would soon be leaving. This was my mothers parents land that they had owned when it was passed down to them. My mother and I had always lived alone with little money, so I was very surprised when I came to find out that they were upperclass. Sadly they thought of me as only a lowerclass citizen that they wouldnt usually waste their time on. I was only here right now because they had insisted that she be put to rest 'in the one place she was happy before my father and I ruined it' as they constantly told me. They didnt want me to be around for long because they firmly believed that I was the cause of her death as well. After meeting them I now understood why my mother never took me to see her parents. Looking back I could see why she would smile so sadly when I would ask why I didnt have grandparents like all the other kids.

At any rate, I was going to live with a man I had never known even existed soon. I could only hope that things would go well.

(A few days later)

I pulled my luggage out of the back of the dark shiny car and looked around me. The sun was brightly shining, but in only a few hours it would set. The large mansion was mostly white and gold with a fence running around the owned land that disappeared into the surrounding thick forest. To most it would have been a fairytale, but to me it was a nightmare.

"Ah, hello Serenity. I'm glad to see you have arrived safely." I looked to my left and saw the man Yuyi Takehito, also known as my father, coming towards me. He was a tall but thin man and he wore a gray business suit and had his hair (that was by now turning slowly into gray) slicked back. As he neared me I thought he would welcome me more, but he just kept walking towards the car that I had just exited.

"I prefer Serena if you don't mind." I said as politely as I could. He stopped for a moment to gaze at me but then continued talking and walking.

"Serena then. I'm afraid that I must be going. I have a meeting that I cannot miss, but Tennoji will take care of everything while I'm gone. Goodbye." Then, as quickly as he had come, he got into the car and the driver sped out of the driveway to heaven knows where.

I saw an old man that I assumed was Tennoji standing where Yuyi had come from. He was a small old man that was stooped over with little hair. He beckoned toward me and led me into the home.

"It's been a long time since we've had a young'en in the home." He said with a gentle smile at me. "The last one around was your papa way back when!" I smiled back as best I could and followed him as he gave me a tour of the mansion. He explained the rooms with such happiness but I couldn't understand it. After a long time he finally showed me the room that was to be mine.

The room was extremely large with high walls painted white and three extra doors. The thick carpet was a dark and lush forest green. The bed had silk of the same color green with at least half a dozen pillows. There was a large wooden study desk just off to the side. A large walk in closet that was filled with designer clothes that were too fancy for me was waiting behind door number one and for a moment I wondered how they had gotten my size and who went shopping for them but quickly forgot it.

My own personnel bathroom was about the size of my previous bedroom behind the second door. The tile and everything else was all white. The third door was actually leading to a balcony that gave an amazing view of an outside garden and pond surrounded by a bunch of trees.

"Thank you."

"Your welcome. If you need anything just let one of us staff know, alright?"

"I will. Thank you once again." I watched his small form leave the room and close the door after him, and the moment I heard the door click I sank to the carpet that was so thick I thought it was trying to eat me. I sat there staring at the ground for a while, trying to figure out my next move.

I knew that I would have to go to a fancy school that Yuyi would choose for me. I didn't want to go to a school anymore though. My mother had gotten mad at me when she found out that I wasn't planning on finishing school in order to get a job, so I stayed for her. With her gone, what was the point? I didn't want my father's money and I certainly didn't want to live here for very long. Yuyi will find out my plans when I tell him tomorrow, I decided.

I stood up and looked outside into the sky to see it was dark out with the stars shining through the glass. My body moved to the bed to sleep, and in my head I went over what I was to say to Yuyi when I woke up.


	2. Chapter 2

_I looked up with tears in my eyes at my mother who was tucking me into the soft blanket on my futon. She smiled down at me and felt my forehead. _

"_Well, you still have a fever so I guess you get to stay home from school tomorrow. Don't cry sweetie, I know you don't feel well but you'll be better soon." She got up and turned the light off and came back to my side. Pulling up her own blanket, my mother turned to me. _

"_Mommy, can you tell me a story before I go to bed?" I asked._

"_Alright sweetie, if you promise to go to bed after that." I nodded my head quickly. "Okay, so what story do you want to hear? Cinderella? Maybe the Lion and the Mouse? Wait, I know! How about I tell you the story of the Maid and King?" My eyes shined at the story. My mother knew it was my favorite and that if I had my way she would tell it to me every night. "Alright, alright. Lets see, how does it begin again?"_

"_With 'a long time ago, there was a lonely King' mommy!" I said, repeating the words I had heard so often before._

"_Sometimes I think you know the story better than I do, dear heart." She laughed and started. "A long time ago, there was a young and lonely King. He had every possession that he had ever desired because of his high power and education that came with his title. He worked hard for his kingdom and people. His hard work showed in the lands prosperity. However, even with the success he was lonely and sad. His people never understood why he was unhappy despite their best efforts._

"_One day, a beautiful young woman appeared outside the Kings castle. 'I wish to serve his Majesty' she said. The guards wouldn't let her in at first, but she remained outside determined to serve him. They finally let her in, giving her the lowly job of a maid. She happily accepted._

"_She quickly became the best maid in the castle and earned everyone's respect but had yet to actually meet the young ruler. The young woman one-day came upon the King in his study and saw how sad he looked in the moonlight. She came into the room and the poor King without having to hear any words was comforted by the strange woman. Their eyes met, and it was love at first sight._

"_The two began to spend their time together and soon their love began to show to other people. However, the Kings advisors didn't approve of their relationship. They believed it was best to get rid of the woman before it was too late. So when they heard that the King was planning on taking the woman for his wife, the advisors quickly set the plan into motion. _

"_The advisors told the King that if any child from the lovers were to come into being before marriage, the maid would have to leave the kingdom with the child and never return. The King agreed, confident that no such thing would happen. However, they had given the maid a potent drink to become pregnant, so when the night came, a child was conceived. Heartbroken, the king was forced to say goodbye to the maid that he loved so much. He never married or loved another. The maid that had shaken the kingdoms roots left the land and forever wandered the world with the beautiful child. She also never married but she did love again, after all to love a child is to still love." My mother ended._

_At this time, tears were in my eyes because of the unhappiness that the King and Maid had felt. My mother wiped away my tears and kissed me on the forehead._

"_It's so sad mommy! Why couldn't the people just let them love in peace?" I asked._

"_Its because they thought that bad things would happen if they were allowed to be in love. Now its time for bed like you promised!" My mother said in a mockingly stern voice. Then, lying down, she held my hand._

I slowly opened my eyes to the awaiting light. It looked like the sun had risen only a short while ago. Yawning, I sat up and stretched feeling refreshed for the first time in a long while.

Remembering my dream, I couldn't help but wonder at why I had it. Maybe it was meeting Yuyi for the first time yesterday. It was actually a memory of when I was 8 and too sick to go to school or anything else. My mother had taken care of me so nicely. It was around that time that I realized that the story I held so dear was actually what had happened to my parents. Maybe I had loved it subconsciously because of the truth it held.

My father was so powerful with his business because of him working in the same area as the generations before him. My mother needed a job very much back then, and knew that his house held servants, which meant good jobs. After working for him for a few months, they fell in love. But, just like the story, his business partners didn't like my mother interfering with my father's social life. So, they made a deal that if he had a kid with my mom before any real commitment was made she would have to leave and cut off all ties to him.

Even though it sickened him, my father was prideful and wanted to stick to the promise when I came around. They had decided it was for the better for me to be raised with love from my mother then with distance from how I would otherwise have been raised. Apparently my father would have had to hire nannies to take care of me because of how strenuous his job was.

'How lonely' I thought as I got up. I may not have known Yuyi as a person for long, but I couldn't help but pity him. He had had to give up his true love because of his own work, and he wasn't strong enough to fight against pride and promises to be with her. In a way, I saw him as a slave to his work.

The walk in closet was larger than I had thought at first, but I eventually found a pair of pants that were loose along with a plain white shirt and grabbed some tennis shoes and socks. I put up my long hair into the usual pigtails that reached past my butt and decided that right now was as good a time as any to talk Yuyi.

Thankfully I was able to walk the whole way to his office in the house without getting lost, although it did take me over 10 minutes to make sure I was headed the right way. I knocked on the door and after hearing a muffled 'come in' I opened it and slipped in.

Yuyi was sitting at a large desk that had a mountain of paperwork on it. In his hands was a manila file but he put that down and told me to sit on the chair opposite him.

"It's perfect timing that you're here right now, Serena. I was just looking into suitable schools for you to attend. So far, it's a tie between Ouran and St. Lobelia."

"Actually, that's why I need to talk to you. You see, I was thinking that it was best if I were to find a job and cut back on school." At this he started frowning. "Well, what I mean to say is that I don't wish to burdon you with all the things that go with schooling like tuition and extra activities. After all, I understand you're an important man." I paused because I knew he needed to have a say in this important conversation.

Yuyi didn't say anything for a minute or two. "I don't like this idea of yours. After all, what would your mother say if she were around?" I flinched at those words, remembering her anger at the idea when I said it to her. "I want to see if there is any alternative. Any at all. It's just not right for a young lady such as yourself to stop school when its so important. You've learned much so far, and then you want to quit? I will not hear anymore of it. You will go to school, whether you want to or not. The only matter now is what school you will attend out of these two choices. The first is an all girls school, while the other is co-ed. Both are very reputable so it will not matter which one you decide." He passed me two photos, one from each school. The first one was of a typical high school uniform for girls that was white and a reddish maroon color. The second had two uniforms in it for a guy and a girl. The girls was a ghastly yellow dress that looked like it was a failed attempt at lolita and had fallen in paint. The guys' however, was a soft blueish purple and black slacks. The black shoes were also a nice touch I thought.

I had known all along that he wouldnt go with me quitting school, and that I just was fooling myself with false hope. Now I had to come up with some way that would get me out of wearing a hated girlish red thing, and a horrid yellow thing. Then I thought for a second. He had said he wanted an alternative to me quitting right? Well, the only uniform I like is the guys', and I would be safer than if I were to go as a girl. After all, the track record for getting attacked wasn't exactly clean.

"How about I make you a deal?" I asked. He looked at me suspiciously for a moment, and nodded for me to continue. "I will go to school, and I wont complain or bring up the idea of quitting again if…."

" If, what?" I could see that I had caught his attention. So far so good, right? Now for the moment of truth.

" If you allow me to masquerade as a male student. That way, I wont have to worry for my own safety like I would if I were to attend as a girl, and you will know that I wont be cutting school." He seemed to consider it for a second.

"And what about your hair? Would you be able to cut it off?"

" My hair? I can tie it up in a ponytail like I usually do. It wont be in the way at all."

"What of your womanly figure? That won't be so easy to hide."

"I have undershirts that will hide anything that might show that I'm a girl."

"Your eyes might give you away. They are, after all, quite feminine."

"Then the other kids will see me as a very feminite man."

He looked thoughtful for another moment. I believed he would say no to this idea as well. Then he surprised me and started laughing. He didn't stop for at least a minute, and I held my breath the entire. When he stopped, he had a mischevious glint in his eye, almost as if he knew something I didn't.

"Alright, you have a deal. As long as you don't cause any unnessacary trouble, you will be enrolled at Ouran Academy as a male student. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to begin filling out these papers for the school." And with that, he picked the manila folder and turned around in the chair.

I got up and left as quickly as I could, unable to believe that I had actually convinced him to let me do something so crazy. 'Maybe it wont be so bad here' I thought with a little hope shining through. 'And maybe school will be uneventful as well. That way I wont have to do much. After all, how much trouble can a bunch of rich kids be?'


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own the main characters at the club. I own the Shields family, the Takehito family, and anyone employed to them. Oh, and I want you guys to check out this really cute story by one of my great friends! Its called "**To Find One Heart in the Dark" **by** chubbylover **and it's a cute story about** **another under loved underdog, Chouji from the series Naruto! Remember, if you can spare a minute to read it, you can spare another to review it!**

Before I went out the door, I decided what I wanted him to put my name as. I turned around and said to him that I wanted to have my name as Sanosuke Shields. Then I left him to do all the work like he said.

I had left his office feeling better having the whole school load off my shoulders for now, only to realize that I had nothing to do. So after much debate on my part, I went out the back door to be in the heavenly garden that I felt so peaceful in.

When I had walked through the garden door, I saw it was even more glorious than I thought last night. I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face. It seemed unfamiliar to me at first, but I didn't mind. Then I caught the scent of something familiar. I rushed towards the area it was coming from to see what it was. When I got to the row of plants, it was as I thought. Trying to catch my breath, I kneeled in front of the small but lively Mint plant. It was bringing back memories of my mother since she had always carried a small pot of mint no matter where we went. She was always fiddling with the plant it seemed and I had loved to hug my mother since the fragrance was always on her.

I looked around the entire garden until I found a pot, potting soil and a gardening tool. I gently placed my own mint plant in and patted the soil down softly until I deemed it transportable. I carried it into my room and placed on the desk. Then I sat down and just stared at the plant, letting it engulf me in its sweet smell.

That night, while I ate dinner in my room, Tennoji brought me a letter from my father. It said that I was going to school tomorrow and that I would have to pick up the uniform from the office in the morning. After I was done reading, Tennoji gave me my backpack with all the supplies I needed, plus a cell phone to get in contact with. I casually tossed that in my bag since I didn't really want to use it.

During the night, I had my usual nightmare.

"_Why? Why did this happen to me??" My mother cried to me. Her body was bruised and bloody. It was after the crash. She was standing over me with despair in her eyes._

"_Mom! I'm sorry!!!!" I pleaded to her. I was half kneeling and sitting, unable to get up. Everything around us was black. My mother put her head in her hands. I wanted to hug her and make things better, prevent her from doing this. I knew what was coming next, but it didn't make it easier._

"_Why?" She yelled to no one in particular again. "Why did your father ruin me?? He saddled me with an ungrateful child! You… you killed me! If you hadn't been around, I would have been happy! It's your fault that I'm dead! Do you really think that someone so evil and hateful as you should be happy??" Then, all at once, the darkness beneath me started sinking. It was like molasses and if I didn't do something it would swallow we! I tried pulling away, but there was nothing to hold onto. I could barely see through the tears that filled my eyes, but in desperation I reached out to my mother with my hand hoping she would grab it. The last thing I saw was my mother staring blankly at me as I was finally swallowed up. _

The screeching of the alarm clock abruptly woke me, and I jolted up in bed. I was shaking and covered in night sweat. I put a hand over my eyes subconsciously, and saw that I couldn't steady my hand. I turned off the alarm and tried to stand up but my legs gave out on me. I fell on my shoulder and lay there for a moment before I finally felt my strength return to me before trying to stand again. After that little episode I walked into my bathroom and splashed water onto my face.

I was foolish to try and stand right after the dream; I knew it before I tried, but I couldn't help it. It always affected me so much that I had to wait a few minutes before trying to do anything. The dream was the only dream I had had since my mother died, excluding last night's peaceful memory. I pushed the dream to the back of my mind as usual.

I quickly took a shower and dressed in casual clothes not bothering for anything in particular. After all, I wouldn't be wearing these for that long today anyways. Then I tied my hair up into a ponytail that hanged low, since that was more of how a guy would wear long hair. Grabbing my messenger backpack, I was about to walk out my bedroom door and stopped for a moment. I turned around, walked to the mint plant, took one long whiff of it after softly touching its leaves and then turned back to the door, feeling just a little more courageous.

The driver was very quiet the entire ride to school, only saying his name and that he was going to pick me up at the front of the school, right where he dropped me off. He surprisingly rushed to open the door as soon as he stopped the car. I actually didn't even see him leave the car, but I didn't say that since it was awkward to be around the guy.

Walking onto any school ground is awkward. However, walking onto a school ground that is completely filled will the horrid and ghastly yellow dresses and somewhat stand able purplish uniforms. Now imagine that everyone's staring at you, as if you were a loose animal or something. I frowned and tried not to look at anyone. Well, that is until I accidentally looked to the right at some girls whispering loudly. They shrieked in fear and surprise, almost fainting.

After that little event I kept my eyes forward, refusing to look at any other students. With my bag slung over my shoulder I walked into the office and talked to whoever was in charge. I didn't really pay attention to who it was, but I think the name was Suoh or something. 'Oh well' I thought 'I probably wont have to deal with him or anyone from that family anytime soon, so its not like it matters.'

They gave me my uniform and let me change in a staff bathroom that had plenty of space. At first I had trouble with the white undershirt it had because of the bandages that kept my upper woman parts from showing, but I asked for a larger one to make it as loose as possible. After that I had no problems with uniform and after making sure my hair was still in a manlier style, I stepped out to find my classroom.

'1-A' the sign above me said. I glanced back down towards the paper in my hands making sure I had the right room. The school had been so confusing to walk around and I didn't know where to go at all. That is, until I asked the guy the same age as me where to go. He was kind of short, had short brown hair and big brown eyes. He seemed nice, and when he told me where to go he didn't cower.

I walked into the room, only to be greeted with the same apprehensive eyes as before. I ignored it all and talked to the teacher. He directed me to sit next to the left of this guy that just screamed mischief. When I glanced to him, I saw double. For a second I thought I was crazy, but then I realized that they were twins. They had orangish hair and light colored eyes. They were skinny but good looking.

"Hey, it's the one who caused a ruckus this morning" they said together.

"I didn't cause any trouble." I replied icily while fiddling with the things in my bag.

"Well, you caused two girls to faint on grounds for no reason. They've been in the infirmary since."

'Dang, I guess those two did faint after all.' "Well, that's not my concern now is it?"

"We have a theory." A grin spread out on their faces.

"Could it be that-"

"You use magic?" The other finished. I was furious at what they said. I stood up, grabbed them each by the collar and brought them in close.

"How about you see if I need to use magic to hurt people?" I said with a glint in my eye. I let them go and sat down calmly as if nothing happened. They both stepped away and after that I ignored them.

Then the boy I had asked directions from walked in and went to the seat in between the twins. I looked at how he moved… it was strange. In that moment, I realized that this character was actually a girl! What was she doing?? Was she doing it for similar reasons as I was? Maybe a parent forced her, or afraid to show what she really was… I decided that I wouldn't tell her I knew though. After all, she had a reason to do it, right?

"Oh! Hey, I'm glad to see that you made it all right. I'm Haruhi Fujioka by the way."

"You know him, Haruhi?" The twins asked together. They looked a little nervous to be near me still since the seating arrangements, but I didn't care.

"Well, I met him in the hall earlier. Actually I don't think I caught your name."

"Oh, yeah. I'm Sanosuke Shields. I go by Sano though." It would take a little getting used to, but I knew it was the best name I could have while in disguise.

After that, the twins were less nervous. The three of them looked like they were close, so I didn't try to get in the middle of their conversation, but Haruhi made a point to make sure I was included. Most of the time I pretended not to listen just to put the two boys I scared at more ease. I felt kind of bad for scaring them that much, but I decided it was too late to change that. The teachers' lesson was really boring, but I somehow made it through the day all right.

"We have to go to our club now Sano, but we'll see you later right?" Haruhi asked.

"Yeah, sure. Later." I waved goodbye to them since they seemed to be in a little bit of a hurry. I packed my stuff and from the corner of my eye I saw a notebook. I was about to dismiss it and walk away when I saw that it had Haruhi's name on it. Picking it up, I noticed it was the one that it held today's lesson and everything else in it.

I felt the accursed cell phone in my pocket ring. I pulled it out and answered without checking who it was.

"Hello?"

"Ah, hello Serena." It was Tennoji, but why was he calling? "I'm afraid to tell you that the driver won't be able to pick you up for a while. Sorry dear. I hope you don't mind finding something to do for the time being. He'll call you when he gets close so that you wont be waiting too long. Once again, we're sorry that this happened."

"It's alright. I have something I need to do before I go home anyways. Bye Tennoji."

"Bye dear."

I decided to take it to her now since I didn't have anything better to do, but there was one problem: I had no idea where to go. I looked around, hoping to find someone that knew where this "club" that they went to was. Finally these girls told me to go to the third music room, after giggling like crazy. 'Man, what was that about?' I thought to myself. I could still hear them laughing behind me as I headed towards my destination.

Ten minutes and three wrong turns later I was standing before a giant door. Why this school had to be so big, I didn't really know. At any rate, I decided to get this over with so that I could start walking home before the driver caught up. Why he had to drive me when walking was so much better, I'll never understand.

I grabbed the door, turned the handle and walked in. For a second I could have sworn that rose petals were attacking me, but the next moment there was nothing there. At the same time, I heard a cry of voices say "Welcome!" catching me slightly off guard. I fought the urge to back out the door and run away when I saw several good-looking guys facing me. Well, if you counted Haruhi as a male at that point.

"My, it's the new student!" Said a tall blonde guy. He got up from the chair that was in the middle of the guys and walked towards me. "Very unexpected to see you here! Well then, welcome to the host club!"

"I wouldn't have pegged you as the gay type, Sano." One of the twins said. I couldn't tell whom though because the tall, energetic, blonde guy was starting to ramble on how good it was to have diverse customers, preventing me from looking at them.

"Wait a min-" I tried to stop his rambling, but he ignored me.

"I'm so glad that we can attract all kinds of people, just proving that it truly is a curse to be both beautiful and kind towards those who need-"

"I said WAIT!" I shouted, causing him to look at me confused.

"What is it?" He asked sincerely. I figured he was a really BIG idiot.

"I'm not gay. I only came here to give Haruhi his notebook." I turned to her. "You left it in the class and since I had time to kill I thought I might as well turn it back over to you." With a bored stare, I handed it back to her.

"Oh, thank you. That could have been bad." She said thankfully. She got this big smile on her face as she grabbed it.

"So a host club, huh?" I glanced at the room with little interest. All of the people in the room were staring and making me really uncomfortable.

"Why yes! We who have ample time use it to entertain ladies who also have free time. Oh, I don't think we've been introduced like gentleman! I am the king of the host club, Tamaki Suoh aka the prince type. My friend with the glasses is Kyouya Ootoori, the cool type. The tall silent one is Takashi Morinozuka, aka Mori the wild type. The little one is Mitsukuni Haninozuka, aka Hunny the Lolita type. I believe you've already met the twins and Haruhi?"

I nodded my head. I saw the twins start to tell Tamaki about how I was already friendly with Haruhi when I felt a tug on my sleeve and looked down to see the one called Hunny. Just thinking of his name reminded me of sweets and made me hungry.

"Uh, yes?"

"I wanted to know if you wanted to eat some cake with me, Sano-Chan?" He asked, making me even hungrier. I figured I might as well take him up on the offer.

"Sure. I haven't eaten cake in a long time." He led me to a table where we sat. Mori, the ridiculously tall one brought cake to both of us and also sat down. I could see Tamaki and the twins bickering before Haruhi was brought into the middle of it for some reason. I think I might have even heard something about ramen or coffee but I wasn't sure. They became background noise, however, when I finally saw the pink, fluffy piece of cake that lay on my plate. I lifted my fork and slowly cut into my pink slice and brought it to my lips, savoring its sweet taste. It was true that I hadn't had cake for a long time even though I had loved it. My mother and I used it to celebrate our birthdays, but besides that we didn't really eat it since we thought the money could be used for more important things. I could still remember clearly when I had come home on my 13th birthday with a fresh cake already made by my mother on the table, who had refused to let me look into the kitchen only for me to see that it looked like a flour bomb had exploded in there. She had just laughed it off while scratching her neck, saying, "It wasn't as easy as I thought to make a homemade cake". Then we had fought over whether or not I would help clean the kitchen, with me winning out in the end. I let the memory envelope me for a moment before remembering that I wouldn't ever be able to eat cake with her again.

"Sano-Chan? Are you alright?" Hunny asked, bringing me to the back to the present. I glanced at him for a moment before removing the fork out of my mouth.

"Yeah, just thinking of some old times that I had cake before."

"I love cake!" He said, with a big smile on his face. "I love to eat it whenever! Especially today." He said cheerily still.

"Oh? Is today special or something?" I asked trying to figure out what occasion it might be.

"Huh? Why do we need an occasion for something like cake? I eat it all the time!" He said a little confused.

"A-All the time??" I asked surprised. He didn't need an event or occasion to eat cake??

"You sound so surprised." Said Tamaki, who appeared to have listened in on us. He was standing behind me, apparently having forgotten the fight he had just been in with the twins.

"Well, I guess I kind of am. I just didn't realize that people would eat something like this often. I mean, what do you use to stand out for a celebration?" I asked.

"Like for a birthday?" Tamaki questioned.

"Well, I eat even more cake! It's also fun to have all kinds of other sweets like donuts, pie, ice cream, crème Brule, and chocolate fruits, mousse and-" Hunny kept going on. My jaw began to drop at some of the things he mentioned.

Suddenly there was a crash behind me. I turned around to find a small table that had held a vase was on the floor. The vase smashed with the flowers and water everywhere. I spotted a broom and dustpan in the corner. Before anybody else could move, I grabbed them and started to clean up the mess.

"It was you two that did that, not me!" I heard Tamaki shout, trying to make everyone believe him.

"Why would we do that, milord?" I heard the twins say together. I got the feeling that they really were the ones at fault, but I didn't say anything. For the second time since I had met them the three of them got into a little spat.

"Sano-Chan, why are you the one cleaning this up?" Hunny questioned.

"Well, I don't mind cleaning. I'm not one to stand for a big mess like this one. In fact, I was actually thinking of getting a job as a cleaner someplace, but I'm kind of putting it on hold." 'Besides' I said to myself 'My family has such LUCK when it comes to being maids' thinking back to my existence thanks to my odd parents.

"Do you clean very well?" Asked the one with glasses.

"Well, I think so. I like to make sure things are nicely done." I said thinking for a minute.

I felt the phone in my pocket move along with the ring tone that was randomly on there. I motioned to the others to hold for a second before answering. I expected it to be Tennoji again, but I was wrong.

"Ms. Serenity?" A voice on the other line asked. It took me a moment to place the owner of the voice to be the driver.

"Yeah?" I asked. I was a little mad that he had called me by my first name, but I couldn't say anything about it in front of the club.

"I will be outside of the school in 10 minutes. Please hurry outside." He said coldly.

"Uh, yeah sure." I hung up shrugging off the shivers that went up my spine. I grabbed my bag and went to stand up and as I did I tripped over my feet and started falling. It felt like everything was slow motion for a moment when I felt someone prevent me from falling. I looked up, extremely surprised to see Kyouya. He righted me before letting go. Everyone was silent and staring at us making it really awkward.

"Thank you. That would have been pretty bad if I fell, huh?" I said nervously to break the tension in the air.

"I realize you must be going, but can I speak to you privately for a moment?" He said and then motioned for me to follow him. He led me away from the others until we were across the room and he deemed it far enough. "I was curious, were you going to take up a job this year?"

"Uh, well not really. Yuyi doesn't want me going around looking for a job in some random place." I said, thinking back to our conversation we had yesterday.

"If you would like, I can set up a job here at the club for you." I looked up in surprise. "You see, we cant really have maids that we need to train because they would demand too much of our attention. We need someone that can be here to clean everyday. We would pay you well for your services."

"Yes, that would be wonderful!" I said, trying to contain my excitement. If I had a job here, Yuyi wouldn't be able to stop me, and I could still earn my own money.

"Alright, I'll have a talk with the others. We'll give a trial tomorrow and then we'll decide. It has to be voted on, of course so we may find someone else." I nodded that I understood. "Well then, we'll see you tomorrow Sano." I quickly waved to everyone as I left, happy that I might get a job after all.

As soon as I reached the front gates, the driver pulled up and hurried to open the door for me. I took off my backpack and sat in the car; unable to believe the weird day I just had at my first day ever at Ouran high school. I could only hope that the days that followed would be as strange.


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay… so a lot has happened since I last updated which was about…. Oh let's say a century ago. Yeah…. I'm sorry about that. Anyways, I plan on writing again because it's so much fun. And don't forget that my good friend ChubbyLover is writing some good stories! Both are with underrated characters like Kasanoda, only she's writing about under loved characters from Naruto. The characters are Chouji and Lee, and I especially want you guys to read the one about Lee because the story is being written with my character! Hooray! And guys, I write much faster with reviews! Remember, if you can spare a moment to read it, you can spare another to review it! Anything helps! Alright, happy reading! **

After talking about the potential job with Kyouya, I was too excited to sleep that night. It was invigorating to know that I was going to use a loophole in Yuyi's plan to keep me a student full-time and I should have felt bad but I couldn't bring myself to feel that way. I was glad to put my skills to use and it would give me a sense of freedom. After all, I would be using what my mother had taught me all life to live by in this new world. I guess the cleaning would give me a sense of normality when everything else changed recently.

Since I could remember, she had instilled in me a sense of being neat when it came to important things. She always worked, so when I was 5 I took over all the chores in the house because I felt that it was important. I was so happy when she would come home from a long, exhausting day at work to a clean house, knowing that she was proud of me even if it wasn't the best job in the world.

I stood up and walked to my beautiful mint plant that was sitting almost happily on my desk. After thinking about it for a moment, I sat down in the chair that was in front of the desk, and planned to only be there for a short while. I folded my arms on the wood and soon laid my head down so that I could still look at my precious plant. I was so mesmerized and consumed by my thoughts and plant that the next time I looked away I could see the tiniest of slivers of light peaking through the window at me.

With on glance back at the plant, I finally forced myself to get ready for the day. I knew that how this school day would determine my future days at Ouran, and so I promised myself to do my best.

As usual, I only got a glance of Yuyi as he quickly walked out the door, heading toward a meeting or something. I noticed that he hadn't been home very much since I came here and I didn't know if it was how he had always been or if he was purposely making sure our contact was minimal. Either way, he was too rich to work so much in my opinion.

I quickly told Tennoji that I was planning to stay after school for a club but I couldn't bring myself to tell him why. He didn't ask any further questions, and I gratefully let his imagination fill in the blanks of my activity. Then I headed toward the car that the driver was taking me to school in. Every time he looked at me with his cold eyes I got chills and couldn't help but look the other direction. After what seemed forever, he pulled up to the school and I got out of the door that he held open for me. I thanked him quickly, and walked onto the school grounds.

The looks people gave me today were similar to the day before, but there was something else to them. The looks were almost of amusement and wonder, but it was hard to be sure. I ignored them all and just headed in the direction towards my classroom.

"Good morning, Sano." Haruhi greeted me as I walked into the class.

"Morning, Sano." The twins said as I came near them. They were sitting casually near Haruhi and looked extremely tired, which made me grin.

"Morning. Why are you two so sleepy?"

"We found a game the other day, and we stayed up all night playing it." One of them said. I couldn't tell which, but I didn't really care. I just started laughing at how foolish it sounded. Then again, I knew I looked exhausted as well since I had only been half asleep last night rather than actually sleeping.

"You guys do know that whatever game it was would still be here in the morning, right?" I said, still laughing. They gave me a matching blank stare and before they could reply the bell rang, signaling the beginning of class. They took their seats and the teacher began the lesson.

The lecture in our class was so boring that I fell asleep only a few minutes into class, but thankfully the teacher didn't notice. Good thing the teacher didn't too, because it would have been hard to explain to Yuyi why my second day I was in trouble for dozing in class. Scratch that, Tennoji would have told him since I haven't even been able to say more than hello to him since our last major discussion of which school I was to attend. Somehow, the day passed really quickly and before I knew it the 4 of us were heading towards the third music room that held the host club. On the way there, the twins decided to pay me back for my comments earlier.

"You know, Sano, that the test will be extremely difficult, right? You'll have to clean everything from top to bottom with only a toothbrush and 5 paper towels. Anything more and you'll be disqualified! Oh, and not to mention that if you fail to get EVERY speck of dirt out of the room, that you'll be sent packing!" The twins said with a devilish glint in their eyes. I didn't believe them fully, but they were starting to get me, making me a little nervous.

Haruhi saw this and thankfully told me different things. "Don't worry Sano. I'm sure that they will have things set up differently. I know that you will do fine if you try your hardest." She then gave me a comforting smile that could lift anyone's spirits.

"Thanks Haruhi. I'll definitely blow you all away with how well I'll pass the trial, just wait and see!" I said as confidently as I could. Before I knew it, we were about to pull open the door to the room. I hesitated for a moment, but then firmly grasped the cold handle and opened the door and walked in.

I saw the upperclassmen pulling a curtain shut that was separating a part of the room and I immediately realized that behind that curtain must be where my ultimate test was to be.

"Ah, hello Sano." Kyouya greeted me once he realized that we had arrived. "Are you ready for the trial?" He asked me calmly. His gaze on me was strong and almost unbearable despite his words.

"Yes, I think I'm ready." I replied casually, and I was proud to hear that my voice was strong even though I felt like he was sizing up how I could handle myself.

"Alright, I'll explain your task then. Through this curtain you will find a mess that needs to be cleaned up thoroughly. You will have 30 minutes to complete as much as you can, and you are only allowed to use the supplies we have left inside for you. The rules are that you can't have outside help, and that you don't use any other cleaning items than the ones we have provided. When the time is up, we will evaluate your work and discuss and vote on whether or not you are to be in our service. Am I clear?"

"Crystal. I'm ready to begin." I said as I walked forward to the curtain. When I passed through the fabric, my first thought was that it was already night time, even though the other side I had just exited showed otherwise. On further inspection, I realized that mud covered the windows completely. I was in awe at the mess of the room because there were muddy handprints everywhere, random clothes strewn about and ripped paper thrown around, and that wasn't even all of it.

"You have only 29 minutes and 31 seconds remaining Sano, so I suggest you begin." I heard Kyouya say from the other side of the temporary wall that separated me from everyone else. His voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I quickly looked around, and was glad to find Windex on the table near me. 'I might as well begin with letting some light through' I thought to myself. As quick as my body could, I cleaned the windows to where the sun shone proudly. Then I picked all of the clothes up and put them in a basket that was placed in the middle of the room and when every item of clothing was picked up I dragged it to the corner where it was out of my way. I dusted and oiled the large table in the room and then picked up the broom and swept all of the paper that was on the ground and threw it away, leaving me with the biggest job of all: mopping all of the mud off the floor. The soapy water soon became dark and by time I finished the entire floor the liquid was unrecognizably black. Just as I was making my last touches I heard a timer go off on the other side.

"Sano! Times up! It's time for us to judge your work!" I heard Tamaki say in a sing-song voice. I sat down in a chair by the windows and watched as they pulled the curtain open completely.

"Wow, Sano, this looks great!" Hunny said in an amazed voice. I saw Mori nod as well, and I was glad to know that I had their support.

"We didn't think-"

"That you would do so well." The twins said and I figured that I should take that as a compliment.

"This place is magnificent! Sano, this is so wonderful! It truly is inspiring to have this room so clean in such a short time! " Tamaki praised. He was almost dancing around in happiness at my work, which made me smile.

"I knew you would do well." Haruhi told me, making me even happier.

The only who had yet to say anything about my work was Kyouya, who was closely examining the table that I had worked hard on. He seemed to be taking notes on my work by writing them down in his notebook. After he was done looking at all my work, he remained writing in his notebook and after a minute I was growing exceedingly nervous at his silence. He adjusted his glasses and then began speaking.

"This is a thorough job that you have done in so short of time given. As it seems that everyone thinks that your job was successful, I would like to extend an invitation for you to become our room handler. However, if you accept you must understand that you will do more than just clean. You will handle most of our menial tasks like the cleaning and shopping. This way no host will have to be sent someplace that would take up time that could be sent hosting. You would act as a sort of butler, if you will. You must be serious about the job or otherwise we will have to let you go. Do you think you are up for the job?"

"Yes, of course! I wouldn't have done the trial if I wasn't serious about my work. I'll be the best butler this host club has ever seen!" I said enthusiastically. I couldn't help but feel happy that I had passed the examination for working for the club.

"Alright, well we open in 15 minutes so we would like for you to begin today. Is that alright?" Kyouya asked, but I could tell from the look in his eyes that he knew I would do it.

"Yeah, just let me catch my breath before I start. This room took a lot out of me."

"Sano! Sano! Did you notice my handprints?" Hunny asked while coming up to me. He was excited and I laughed at the cute face that he made.

"I sure did. They were really hard clean off. If I didn't know any better, I would think that you were trying to get me to fail." I replied with a grin on my face.

"No! I wanted to make sure you really serious about the host club! Oh! Cake!" Hunny saw Mori put a piece of cake on the table in the main section of the room and ran off to enjoy it. I glanced at the clock and figured now was as good a time as any to get up. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Haruhi approach me with a suit in her hands.

"Kyouya says that while you're here, this is to be your uniform. You're supposed to wear it at all times except when told otherwise." The suit was basically nice dress slacks like the one for the school uniform and the white shirt had a few ruffles in the front but they weren't that bad looking. There was a black vest that went over the shirt and a small, thin black ribbon that was meant to be a tie. To finish it off there was a large cloth that was supposed to be wrapped around the waist. All in all, I actually liked how it looked and surprisingly was a perfect fit, even with my cover up.

"He just happened to have a suit in my size?" I questioned.

"I guess he figured that you would pass the test." She said back.

"Haruhi, it's time to take your place! Oh, Sano, we would like to formally introduce you as our butler to the customers once they are let in if you don't mind." Tamaki explained as he pulled me to the center of the room. Now I felt a thousand times more nervous than when I was waiting to be tested. I had never been good with being the center of attention when I actually had to pay attention to people. After all, ignoring people I could handle but I knew that it would have a negative impact on my work here if I did that.

"Are you ready?" Tamaki asked. I was about to have a panic attack until I felt his calming presence near me. I thanked him silently and after a moment of waiting I smiled as wide as I could manage, though I'm sure people automatically saw through it.

"Yeah, let's get rock and roll this joint." The door then opened to reveal all the awaiting ladies who were wondering what the delay was. When the crowd saw the entire host club in the center waiting for them with me beside them, they began to give me curious looks.

"Welcome beautiful princesses to the Host Club. We as your humble hosts would like to introduce to you our newest club participant: our butler, Sanosuke Shields. Please welcome him as you would welcome any of us." Tamaki told the entire group of girls inside the room. I was then expected to say something and as everyone turned to look at me I couldn't help feeling fidgety.

"Hello, my name is Sano and please don't hesitate to ask me for anything." With that, I ended in a deep bow. When I straightened up, it seemed to me that the crowd was more open to me than before and I was thankful that I wasn't expected to be perfect or anything.

The ladies, or 'princesses' as Tamaki liked to call them, separated and headed toward the different hosts in the room like nothing had interrupted their day. I breathed a sigh of relief that I wasn't the ladies only focus now and headed to Kyouya to find out my first task as the host clubs personal butler. In my mind, I noted how odd it seemed that Kyouya was more of my boss than Tamaki who was the club president.

"What are my duties as of now, sir?" I addressed Kyouya. It felt a little odd to speak to someone and putting them in a higher title than myself, but I knew that I could get used to it after a little while.

"We need you to go to the office and pick up some boxes meant for this week's activities. Just tell the people in there that the club sent you and you shouldn't have any problem.

I went and picked up the boxes without trouble and by the time I made it back to the third music room I noticed there were some new girls in there. There were a lot of girls standing around and I tried to maneuver around them without dropping anything but I accidentally knocked over someone else who had been trying to get around the crowd as well. I quickly apologized, feeling my face redden in embarrassment without looking up and trying to get the boxes off the floor. I was surprised when I heard a male voice that didn't belong to any of the hosts.

"Are you okay? I knocked you down pretty hard." I got the courage to look into the face of the person that I had taken down with me, and was instantly met with eyes that reminded me of a snow storm that I had once been in when I was 8 years old. They also seemed sharp and dangerous. The guy had red hair and was almost frightening in how he looked. His face was hard and in an unpleased look, like he was frustrated all the time. He made me think of the gangs that I used to run into trouble with back in one of the places my mom and I lived in when I decided to be friends with someone that they didn't like.

It took me a moment to do anything more than stare, which I think he noticed, but then I found my voice.

"I'm alright. It was my fault; I couldn't see where I was going and you just so happened to be in the path I was mowing down!" I said as jokingly as I could with a big smile. I could tell from the look on his face that he was about to argue with me again about whose fault it was, but I cut him off before he could.

"My name's Sano. I'm the new butler for the host club but I don't think I've met you before."

It took him a moment before I got his name, like he was hesitating on whether or not to tell me.

"I'm Kasanoda." He replied.

We both finally got off the floor, after he and I managed to pick up everything that I dropped, and headed to the side of the room where the table was. When I put the stuff down, I turned back to him.

"What grade are you in?"

"I'm in 1-D." Was the casual reply.

"You're in your first year? Wow, I thought you were a third year for sure! I'm really glad to meet you then. I mean, it's nice to get to know people my own age in school and all. Not that I wouldn't be glad if you were older, but oh you know what I mean." I said, excited. Finally, I knew more people! Now I could say that I was meeting new people to Tennoji and everyone else at home. Kasanoda looked at me like he didn't believe me, and it seemed to be a look that he gave a lot and I knew then and there that I was going to get him to trust me one day.

"What class are you in?" He asked me.

"Oh, I'm in 1-A with Hikaru, Kaoru and Haruhi." Immediately when I mentioned Haruhi, I noticed he started blushing a little bit which caught me off guard. I didn't understand why, but I thought that his blushing softened his features quite a bit and I couldn't help but think that it was one of the cutest things I had ever seen, kind of like seeing a kitten meow or a puppy chase its tail. However, I became a little disturbed because of his obvious crush on my classmate. There were only two things that would make sense here: one was that he knew about Haruhi and liked her as a girl and two that he DIDN'T know about her secret and liked her anyways. At any rate, it didn't matter to me.

Just then Haruhi walked up to us. Kasanoda seemed to freeze altogether much like the blizzard I saw in his eyes previously.

"Hi Casanova. I saw you guys fall back there, are you two alright?" She asked. I couldn't help but become confused at her calling him Casanova. Was it a nickname?

"Yeah, we were just getting to know each other." I replied when Kasanoda didn't say anything. I slightly elbowed him in the arm to get him to speak which seemed to break him out of his daze.

"Yeah. Ah, Haruhi I brought you a Sage plant for your home. I know you wanted more plants that could be used in cooking." He told her, still blushing, and handed her a small item containing a somewhat familiar plant. She accepted it with a surprised yet happy look on her face.

"Thank you." She said now with a smile. I could see the host club looking at all three of us, some with concern on their faces (namely Tamaki and the twins) the entire time and I felt like asking Haruhi what the big deal was but before I could Kasanoda spoke again.

"I have to go right now but I'll come by and see you again tomorrow." He said his face still as bright as a Christmas light on a tree.

Haruhi and I waved to him as he left and I couldn't help but to feel a little pang of envy as I thought of a guy actually doing something romantic like that. I hoped that someday I would get a guy to do stuff like that for me.

"Bossa-Nova was here? Kyouya, can't you kick him out?" I heard one of the twins say as they walked up to Haruhi and me.

"He is a valuable customer therefore I see no reason in making him stop coming." Kyouya replied while writing in his notebook. I heard the twins and Tamaki grumble about it for a little but I stopped paying attention and finally was told to cater to the club while they were with the ladies.

For the rest of the day I catered to the club and before I knew it I was being picked up by the driver. He pulled up and the moment he got out of the car I felt that familiar chill go up my spine that I had come to associate with him. It was almost like walking through a freezer but I tried to ignore it as usual. For a fleeting moment I almost thought that I knew this feeling from long ago, but I ignored it. I felt the door close behind me and, in what I'm sure was record time, he was back in driver's seat.

He started driving and after a few minutes I noticed that it wasn't the regular way back to Yuyi's home. My mind immediately kicked into worst case scenario solutions, but I managed to suppress the images running in my head. I voiced my thoughts to him about the different road from my seat way behind him.

"The regular route is out of service." He replied. Thankfully, not even 5 minutes later we were pulling up to the familiar mansion and I couldn't help but feel happy that I was finally here and able to get out of the sight of those watching eyes.

The driver as usual opened my door and as I walked to the door I knew he was watching my every move like a hawk. I greeted Tennoji and went up to my room where I was finally able to escape and be with my mint plant. I touched the soft leaves and told the plant all the things I had done that day and happily told the plant that I was going to make sure that I was good friends with Kasanoda no matter what.


End file.
